


Stay

by captainamergirl



Category: One Tree Hill
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:40:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8244682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainamergirl/pseuds/captainamergirl
Summary: Nathan asks Rachel to stay; to stay with him. AU-ish Rathan.





	

"You married my dad," Nathan says as he hand lingers on the crest of her slim hip.  
  
"You married your high school baby mama," Rachel returns, hand inching towards his face.   
  
They are lying on a patio lounge chair and watching the stars together - or more like, pretending to. She can feel the tension in his jaw slacken as her hand finally grazes it. She senses he is losing control quickly but trying anything he can to hold in his need to jump on her right there in the backyard of the house he shares with his wife and son.  
  
"I should hate you," Nathan says. "After all you've done. Plus you're like my stepmom ..."  
  
Rachel grimaces at the term "stepmom". "I do hate you, Nate," she says. "I really do."  
  
Nathan grins, his dimples protruding obviously. "I am having a hard time being convinced of that, Rachel. If you hate me so much, you wouldn't be here now, practically in my lap, while my wife is out buying ice cream for this bullshit Fourth of July party."  
  
Rachel sniffs. "I do hate you, Nathan Scott. I hate you because you are married, because you're unavailable, because I know if I kiss you now I'll never want to stop ..."  
  
"Then don't," he says.  
  
She continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "Most of all, Nathan, I hate you because we can kiss, we can fuck, we can mess around all we want, and you're still never going to leave that twit Haley."  
  
Nathan doesn't answer at first then nods. "You're probably right."  
  
Rachel sits up, moving his hand from her hip. "And tell me again why we should go through with this ..."  
  
"Because we want to," he says and reaches for her waist, pulling her down in front of him. "Because I want you. Because I need you, Rachel. I know this sounds like a line, but you are the only one who gets me."  
  
Rachel smirks even through the tears clouding her eyes. "You're right, it does sound like a line," she says and then kisses him on the mouth as hard as she can.  
  
XoXoXo  
  
She's sitting in the bathroom just mere weeks later, staring at the stick, wondering if it's possible she could be misreading the two pink lines. Maybe her vision is still blurry from the beers she consumed the night before.  
  
And yet, she knows. She's pregnant. And she knows who the father is and she knows he will hate her for this. She knows she can't go through with this either but she wants to. God, she suddenly wants to. Here's this life growing in her, needing her, depending on her, and they will deserve a much better mother than Rachel Gatina could ever be, but she still wants to try.   
  
As she moves out of the bathroom, she happens to glance into the mirror and sees herself truly for the first time. She always worked so hard to be beautiful; now she will be fat and hormonal and her ankles will swell... And maybe, just maybe, she'll actually be happy.  
  
The only thing she knows is that she needs to leave Tree Hill and leave now.  
  
XoXoXo  
  
She packs two bags and decides to leave the rest behind. She won't need any of this $hit in the end. She won't fit her Prada dresses or her Gucci heels in a few months. She doesn't need anything but to feel the sensation of holding this baby in her arms. She has always needed to feel needed and wanted to be wanted and now she will; she definitely will.  
  
She climbs into her car and starts up the engine. She is backing out of the driveway for the very last time when she notices a car pull in behind her, blocking the way. She sighs as she spots Nathan climbing out and moving over to her.  
  
Right away, his eyes fall on the two stuffed bags on the passenger seat. "Leaving?" He asks simply as if there were anything simple about this.  
  
"Yeah," Rachel answers.  
  
"Coming back?" Nathan asks.  
  
"No." She wonders if their conversation will pick up and stop being completely sown of monosyllables but honestly, at the same time, hopes not. If she talks too much, she's going to say too much...  
  
Nathan leans into the open car window, elbows resting on the frame of the rolled down window. "You weren't planning on saying goodbye?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"   
  
"Because, Nathan, I have places to be ..."  
  
"Your place is with me," Nathan says.  
  
She rolls her eyes. "In your bed, you mean."  
  
"That too," Nathan says. "But I want you around."  
  
"Why, Nathan? Why? Whores like me are on every corner so find one and forget I ever existed."  
  
"Maybe I don't want a whore. Maybe I want you," he says and reaches out and tucks a strand of her reddish-brown hair behind her ear.  
  
"Tell that to Haley," Rachel says.   
  
"I will as long as you don't leave," Nathan said.  
  
"What? Are you fucking around with me, Nate?"  
  
Nathan shakes his head. "Not this time. She actually believes I slept with some girl on the road ..."  
  
"Ironic that it was me you were banging instead ..."  
  
He goes on like he hasn't heard her. "I realized something today. Haley just don't understand me. She doesn't get me. She doesn't make me want her the way I want you."  
  
Rachel's eyes fill with tears and she wills them back. "Why are you saying this, Nathan? You're mad at Haley so you're like, lashing out and you're coming to me to kiss your boo-boos and make things all better ..."  
  
"No, I want you, Rach. That's the god's honest truth."  
  
"What do you know about God?"  
  
"Probably more than you do," he says with a little smile. "Anyway, wherever you're going ... just don't. Stay, okay? We can work this all out."  
  
 _Stay._   
  
The word echoes in her head. Being Nathan's mistress right now, she wouldn't have expected him to say that. Because honestly "stay" is as good as hearing him say "I love you". Because for once, someone wants her around.  
  
 _Stay._  
  
"You mean that?" she asks.  
  
He nods. "Yeah, yeah I do." He pulls open the door and reaches over her to unbuckle the seatbelt. He fairly pulls her out of the car and up into his arms.  
  
"I don't care what happens next as long as you don't leave."  
  
Rachel nods and rests her chin in the crook of his shoulder. "Nathan ..." She says. She's about to tell him about the baby but changes her mind.   
  
"Never mind."  
  
There would be time for the baby news later; for now Rachel Gatina is reveling in the fact that for the first time in her life, someone asked her to stay.  
  
FINIS.


End file.
